Stoplog Recovery, Claytor Hydroelectric Plant
American Electric Power
Dublin, VA
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A stoplog is used to stop or block the flow of water in front of crest gates so that the gates can be operated, inspected, and repaired with no water head pressure against them. The operator of a gated structure has the ability to control the water level in a channel by adding or removing individual stoplogs. Each log is lowered into a space between two grooved piers referred to as a stoplog check. At the Claytor Hydroelectric Plant, the stoplog assembly consists of nine separate logs vertically stacked. The logs are moved by an overhead gantry crane. During normal moving operations one of the logs became detached from the crane and was presumed to be on the bottom of Claytor Lake. Marine Solutions was contracted to locate and salvage the 35,000-pound steel log from the bottom of the lake and place it back on the dam structure. Marine Solutions mobilized and assembled a 60-foot by 60-foot barge and loaded it with a 150-ton crawler crane capable of recovering the log, along with a dive station with deep-dive capabilities, including a decompression chamber. The log was found using underwater imaging equipment at a depth of 110 feet. Within two days on-site, Marine Solutions had recovered the log and placed it back on the dam with no damage to the log. The log was then placed back into service.